Details

The monument includes a saucer barrow and a bowl barrow which form part of a
dispersed, north west-south east aligned linear group of round barrows running
along a ridge of the Sussex Downs. The saucer barrow has a squat, circular
mound c.8m in diameter and c.0.5m high surrounded by a now partly infilled,
shallow ditch c.1m wide. Encircling the ditch is a c.3m wide outer bank up to
0.4m high. This shows signs of partial disturbance caused by the erection of a
modern field fence on its southern side.
Lying around 9m to the south east, the bowl barrow has a circular mound c.17m
in diameter and surviving to a height of up to 1m. The southern half of the
mound has been largely levelled by modern ploughing. Surrounding this is a
ditch from which material used to construct the barrow was excavated. The
ditch has become infilled over the years but survives as a buried feature c.2m
wide.
The modern field fence which crosses the monument is excluded from the
scheduling, although the ground beneath it is included.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Saucer barrows are funerary monuments of the Early Bronze Age, most examples
dating to between 1800 and l200 BC. They occur either in isolation or in
barrow cemeteries (closely-spaced groups of round barrows). They were
constructed as a circular area of level ground defined by a bank and internal
ditch and largely occupied by a single low, squat mound covering one or more
burials, usually in a pit. The burials, either inhumations or cremations, are
sometimes accompanied by pottery vessels, tools and personal ornaments. Saucer
barrows are one of the rarest recognised forms of round barrow, with about 60
known examples nationally, most of which are in Wessex. The presence of grave
goods within the barrows provides important evidence for chronological and
cultural links amongst prehistoric communities over a wide area of southern
England as well as providing an insight into their beliefs and social
organisation. As a rare and fragile form of round barrow, all identified
saucer barrows would normally be considered to be of national importance.

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, date from the Late
Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most examples belonging to the
period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as earthen or rubble mounds,
sometimes ditched, covering single or multiple burials. There are over 10,000
surviving bowl barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been
destroyed), occurring across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying
prominent locations, they are a major historic element in the modern
landscape. Bowl barrows are particularly representative of their period and a
substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.
The saucer barrow 250m north east of Hill Barn survives well, and, although
the adjacent bowl barrow has been partly damaged by modern ploughing, the
barrows will contain archaeological remains and environmental evidence
relating to the period in which the monument was constructed and used. The
close association of the monument with two further, broadly contemporary round
barrows provides evidence for the importance of burial practices in this area
of downland during the late prehistoric period.

Source: Historic England